Author: Andrew Arthur Dawson

A teacher of meditation, a motivational speaker, a reader of numerology, and a writer by trade, Andrew Arthur Dawson is a spiritual man devoted to serving his Higher Power and bringing a lot more light and love into this world. This blog, www.thetwelfthstep.com is just one of those ways...

What do YOU personally think needs to be done to reduce the police brutality and excessive use of force in our country?

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

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“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence, toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love…Our aim must never be to default or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)

George Floyd’s death was truly a tragedy on every level, and one that should never have happened. Sadly, police brutality and their use of excessive force continues to be a problem in our country and far too often it’s been with persons of color. Oscar Grant, Rodney King, Anthony Baez, John T. Williams, Christopher Harris, these are just a few of the many names of others who like Floyd, were victims of police brutality. While I’m in total support for change to come in our country to prevent police brutality from happening anymore, I’m not in support of it ever coming through acts of violence.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of my hero’s, and someone I’ve always modeled in my own code of conduct in life. King believed in non-violence and peaceful demonstrations. He stood in the face of hatred and received many-a-beating, all unfairly, and yet never once fought back. In the end, it was his non-violence movement that helped to establish greater equal rights for blacks in our country. But, it’s apparent we still have a long way to go to fully achieve that, as evident in George Floyd’s tragic death.

The problem with violence as King once said, is that it only creates more violence. So, with Floyd’s death being a violent crime in itself by an officer of the law, the response from much of the public soon became a desire to give violence back. In the days that followed Floyd’s passing, demonstrations initially peaceful turned violent, leading to looting, fires, altercations, anger, and rage, none of which accomplished anything except the creation of greater fear and more violent responses from the police, which in turn is only going to lead to more wrongful deaths of people of color in the future. It remains a vicious cycle and thus, the main goal of reducing police brutality never even gets a chance to begin because as King observed in his time, violence never creates peace.

I get people are angry surrounding all this and rightfully so. Something truly has to be done about the police brutality in our country. But the answer’s not violence, as that’s only going to lead to more of the very same thing. Sometimes I really wish Martin Luther King, Jr. was still alive, as I know he’d have the answer on how to fix this, which I most assuredly would be following his lead. I can even see myself going to his first public demonstration surrounding this, all in the hopes of doing my part in helping to achieve greater peace, unconditional love, and equality for all, as the last thing I want is to ever let my own anger get the best of me, where I resort to some violent outburst that’s only going to lead to more violence and more police brutality.

I pray to be a vessel of peace, unconditional love, and equality for all.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

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“When a chronic pain sufferer sufferer actually opens up and talks about their pain, it’s not necessarily “a bad day”. It’s just a day they are choosing to make themselves more vulnerable to you by confiding more about it with you. When this happens, listen, refrain from judgment, and don’t offer suggestions unless asked for one, because the one thing most often needed by a chronic pain sufferer who confides in you is someone who offers them unconditional love in return, which can be as simple as saying ‘I may not understand, but I am there for you…’” (Andrew Arthur Dawson)

Quote #2

“Do not resist the pain. Allow it to be there. Surrender to the grief, despair, fear, loneliness, or whatever form the suffering takes. Witness it without labeling it mentally. Embrace it. Then see how the miracle of surrender transmutes deep suffering into deep peace. This is your crucifixion. Let it become your resurrection and ascension.” (Eckhart Tolle)

Quote #3

“Healing severe or chronic pain, I believe, includes transforming our relationship to the pain, and, ultimately, it is about transforming our relationship to who we are and to life.” (Sarah Anne Shockley) AND “Don’t fight your pain…you can’t win. The paradox of recovery is that you have to surrender to win. Accepting what you cannot change makes the difference.” (Dr. Mel Pohl)

Bonus Quote

“It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes. Living with chronic pain and its limitations makes it hard not to but it is important that we do not let other people’s ignorance define how we feel about ourselves. We have to be proud of the things we are able to do because only we truly understand the strength that it took to do them.” (Unknown)

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The Twelfth Step

Welcome to The Twelfth Step! In here you’ll find that each of my entries come from the many spiritual inspirations I’ve had throughout life. I truly believe God has guided me to create this blog solely to help send out more light and love into this world, especially for those who may have or still be dealing with things such as growing up in an alcoholic family, sexual orientation, molestation, mental health issues, chronic pain, addictions, etc. Of course I talk about many other spiritual experiences in life as well in here too!

So, whether you are looking for some help with an addiction, seeking to learn more about the 12 Steps, searching for someone to relate to who’s been through a lot in life, or simply looking for some spiritual inspiration, I pray you may find just that here in The Twelfth Step, as well as some healing for your own spiritual journey in life.

Be blessed, namaste, know I love each and every one of you unconditionally, and thank you for checking out The 12th Step blog!